. Education .

1. Summary

During our human practice, the team categorized participants in the public education project into five groups: college students, middle school students, young children, special groups, and the general public. This ensures a suitable match between education outreach and project participants while expanding the reach of our educational efforts. Our aim is to create activities that cater to people of all ages and backgrounds by ensuring diversity and quality in our programs. We strive to make synthetic biology accessible to everyone.

2. College students

2.1 HUBU-4-CHN's First Offline Presentation

Objective:
We aim to popularize synthetic biology knowledge among non-biology students, providing them with an opportunity to appreciate its charm and gather their perspectives on the future application of our project in treatment.

Implementation Plan:
We prepared presentation slides (PPT) and scripts.

Activities:
1.The speaker popularizes relevant knowledge of synthetic biology.
2.The speaker explains the specific content of the team project and its potential future application prospects.
3.Students ask questions freely, and the field controller collects everyone's opinions.

Details:
In this publicity activity for non-biology students, our HP team prepared two parts of content: popularizing synthetic biology knowledge and introducing the team's project. The team members explained what synthetic biology is, its main research objects, and its development and application prospects in a concise manner. They also briefly discussed the team's project content and potential applications to the audience. After listening to the project introduction, students from different disciplines provided their own perspectives on the project, which gave the team members new ideas through interdisciplinary discussions. Our first lecture was successfully completed with fruitful exchanges across multiple fields.

2.2 Lecture in the School of Life Sciences, Hubei University

Objective:
We introduce synthetic biology, a new field, to students majoring in biology and encourage the students below to learn more about synthetic biology and have the opportunity to participate in research in the field of synthetic biology in the future.

Implementation plan:
The speaker gave a lecture in the weekly class meeting of the School of Life Sciences of Hubei University.

Activities:
1.The speaker popularizes knowledge of synthetic biology and the team project.
2.Students shared their ideas and discussed freely.

Details:
At around 8 p.m. on Sunday, April 21, 2024, team members delivered a lecture to life science students at Hubei University's School of Life Sciences with the aim of popularizing synthetic biology knowledge and introducing the emerging field. They also shared their project design and sought feedback from biology students for immediate adjustments. During the presentation, the team explained what "synthetic biology" is and highlighted its three important components: "chassis," "element," and "module." The team's project involved modifying Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 as the "chassis cell" to express a gene editing complex and using liposome extruder to create bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) carrying this complex. By binding targeted elements in vitro, these vesicles become modules with specific gene editing capabilities. When discussing how to bind targeted elements in vitro, the team members explained that they used bioorthogonal pairs (Im7/CL7, Im2/CL2, Im8/CL8, Im9/CL9) based on click chemistry principles. For example, by anchoring Im7 protein to connexin InaK on EcN surface and combining antibodies of target cells with CL7 protein, they achieved attachment of targeting elements onto OMVs' surface for targeted gene editing function. Different cells can be targeted by changing the targeting element bound to CL7 protein. Some students expressed their interest even though it was their first exposure to synthetic biology.

2.3 “Reading at Hunan University, Striving for a New Journey Reading ”Speech Competition

Purpose:
To enhance team influence and strengthen public education

Implementation Scheme:
All members of HP group participate together

Activities:
Preliminary competition on May 18, 2024; Final on May 24, 2024.

Details:
In our team's human practice, we registered to participate in the reading and speech competition held by Hubei University. We shared our team's struggle story with teachers and students, and successfully entered the finals among 47 teams from 20 colleges. After receiving an invitation from the school, we prepared diligently for the competition in early May. With the help of teachers and continuous polishing, we passed the preliminary round and entered the final preparation stage. Our ultimate goal was not a high ranking but to share our team's story through this competition.

2.4 Lab Open Day activity

Purpose:
We communicated and shared experiences with other iGEM teams. Opening the laboratory to show people how synthetic biology is realized in the laboratory. Let people experience the basic experimental operations of some biological experiments and provide an opportunity to step into synthetic biology and life sciences.

Implementation plan:
In the early stage,we cooperated with other iGEM teams in the university to find a venue, determined the time, recruited volunteers, prepared for a presentation about our own lab made slides. In the later stage we carried out publicity activities and led the participants to visit the laboratory of the research group where each team is located.

Activity:
1.Presentation for each research group
2.The lab was open for tours.

Details:
On May 18, 2024, the Chinese Society for Cell Biology held a national linkage laboratory open day at the School of Life Sciences of Hubei University. The purpose of this event is to immerse yourself in science popularization, break down barriers, and attract more different groups of people to learn more about life sciences.
Our team aimed to share with you the details of our research group and our iGEM project.  The team's presentation of the lab open day is mainly divided into four parts: the introduction of the mentor of the research group, the research direction of the research group, the work of the representative of the research group, and the introduction of the iGEM project. In the introduction of the group, Wenrui Zhang briefly introduced the current research directions of the group, including the development of targeted delivery vaccines by non-injection routes, high-efficiency CRISPR/Cas gene editing technology, and new molecular diagnostic technologies based on programmed enzymes.In the introduction of the representative work, Qiyuan Gao briefly described the current representative work of the research group: the synthesis of gene editing complexes in the biological self-assembly system, the detection technology of non-nucleic acid target Cas12a, the detection technology of "split-recombinant" Cas12a, and the targeted vaccine based on probiotic outer membrane vesicles. Finally, Wenrui Zhang shared the project of the HUBU-4-CHN team, that is, using the probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle1917 as the vector, allowing it to express the Cas9 RNP gene editing system, and using a liposome extruder to efficiently extrude a large number of outer membrane vesicles with targeted gene editing to target cells or viruses. The wonderful presentations of the team members gave the students a deeper understanding and knowledge of gene editing, and also stimulated everyone's enthusiasm and thinking in the field of synthetic biology.
After the sharing, the four iGEM teams of our university guided the visitors to visit the laboratory in batches.Jingyan Chen , a leader of the team, introduced the experimental equipment to the students and showed how to operate it. The students found it very interesting, and they were eager to try and actively operate in areas that they had not usually touched or learned.  This event is a grand event of science and exploration, and it is an excellent opportunity for students to experience the charm of science in person. HuBu-4-CHN laboratory is open to invite everyone to step into the world of science, experience the fun of scientific research, and learn about the team's latest scientific achievements.

3. Middle school students

Lecture in Wuhan No. 19 high School

Objective:
We popularized cutting-edge genetic editing biological knowledge to high school students and stimulated their interest in biology.

Implementation plan:
In the early stage, we contacted the teacher of Wuhan No. 19 Middle School to negotiate the time and place, and prepare slides for lecture and bought DNA double helix teaching aids onlie.

Activities:
1. The speaker popularized knowledge of gene editing and its principles.
2. The speaker introduced the team project.

Details:
At around 15:30 p.m. on April 26, 2024, Wenrui Zhang, a member of the HP team of our team, came to the first class of Wuhan No. 19 Middle School to give a lecture on the iGEM competition. The purpose of this publicity activity is to popularize the knowledge of gene editing for high school students and promote our team projects, so as to stimulate their interest in biology.
At the beginning of the lecture, she first briefly introduced herself to the students in the audience, she said: "It is an honor to come to my alma mater again as a student in the field of life sciences to carry out science popularization and publicity work. In the warm applause, the preaching officially began.
Based on the high school biology textbook, she used the detachable DNA double helix building block model to popularize the more professional gene editing related knowledge to the students in the audience, and also used a video to introduce the working principle of the CRISPR/Cas9 system to everyone in detail, and showed everyone the strong support of China's national policy for the development of the field of life sciences and its current application in the field of medical treatment. Immediately after the popularization of gene editing related knowledge, the team members introduced our team's project to everyone, and the students were shocked by the video of the seniors doing experiments in the laboratory, and some students even said: "I will also recognize Allah in the future to learn biology."
At the end of the speech, Zhang Wenrui said to the students in the audience: "Gene editing is entering and changing our lives in more and more fields, the 21st century is the era of biology, the development of gene editing will never stop, and the future of gene editing is bright. However, after mastering the technology, we should also pay attention to ethical and moral issues. Here, I would like to say to students who are interested in research in the field of natural sciences: if you want to become a scientist who contributes to society and mankind, you must not only constantly enrich your professional knowledge and improve your scientific research ability, but also have a sense of social responsibility, do not do things that violate morality, law and ethics, adhere to the truth, have the courage to explore, actively ask questions, pass on the correct scientific outlook and scientific knowledge to people, and contribute to the world with your own mind. ”

4. Young children

4.1 The lecture for pupils in the Hubei University affiliated primary school

Objective:
To popularize gene editing knowledge to the second grade students in the form of games and videos, and to lead the children to appreciate the magical biological "scissors" - gene editing technology.

Implementation plan:
1.In the early stage, I contacted the teacher of the fifth class of the second grade of the primary school affiliated to Hubei University to discuss the time of the lecture.
2.The team members of the HP group prepared slides and videos for lecture.Also,they designed interactive games for young childern.
3.Preparation of presentation aids:
(1)Double helix paper model as well as detachable double helix mode.
(2)Team art team members "Design My Double Helix" drawing paper.

Activities:
1.PPT presentation: What is gene? What is gene editing? (One video for each as an auxiliary explanation)
2.Interactive Game Session:
(1)"Two bases matching": 8 children representing one base of DNA for each of the eight children, hugging and pairing according to the principle of "base complementation pairing" taught after the music stops (2)"Design My Double Helix": The children draw their own DNA "Double Helix" on the drawing paper designed by the team's art team

Details:
At half past one in the afternoon of April 26, team members Yanru Ding, Wenrui Zhang and Xinyu Liu, under the leadership of instructors Yi Liu and Jie Qiao, came to the Affiliated Primary School of Hubei University located in the shore of Sand Lake to give a lecture on the theme of mysterious synthetic biology in our lives.
This lecture is open to all the students Class 5 grade 2 of the Affiliated Primary School of Hubei University.The content of the lecture is divided into two parts. The first part is "What is a gene", by Yanru Ding, ,unfolded a wonderful picture of life code to the children through videos, pictures, games, etc.
To make the abstract biological knowledge easy to understand, vivid, and interesting, the team members made careful preparations in the early stage. Not only did they make a beautiful model of the double helix structure of DNA, but they also designed an original classroom game of drawing the genetic code and base complementary pairing. At the beginning of the class, we started with a simple and lively video to let the students understand the role of genes in living organisms and how they can be used. When introducing the bases, we not only used the DNA double helix structure model but also drew the straightened DNA double strand structure, comparing the DNA double strands to railroad tracks. So that the material between the "two stations" is the gene, the substance connecting the "two rails" is the base, and the different order of the bases is our genetic code.The students were enthusiastic and the classroom atmosphere was lively. In the process of designing our own genetic code for the first time, we also invited the students to share their design ideas on stage. We couldn't help but marvel at the innovative thinking of the new generation of young people.
In the classroom game of base complementation pairing, the students enthusiastically raised their hands to participate.In the process of practical teaching, the students got rid of the boring textbook knowledge and immersed themselves in the magical biology knowledge, which greatly improved the students' interest in biology.
Next, team member Wenrui Zhang told the students about the second part of the class, "What is gene editing". The vivid and interesting introduction video aroused the students' thinking. At the same time, the detachable gene model was also distributed to the students so that everyone could carry out their own genetic modification.
Ice cream-flavored bitter melon, jelly-flavored corn, genetically modified to create a one-of-a-kind perfect pet...... The concept of gene editing that is as imaginative as a flying horse in the sky has left the students exclaiming in amazement. The students used their brains and actively spoke to imagine the role that gene editing might play in their lives, which aroused the students' interest in continuing to explore biology in depth.
The colorful science class came to an end in laughter, but the seeds of biology were planted in the hearts of the students......

4.2 Lecture by affiliated kindergarten of Hubei University

Objective:
We expand the educational audience and make synthetic biology enter the classroom to become younger and simpler.

Implementation plan:
Not confined to the format of online networks, we have stepped into real life and entered the affiliated kindergarten of Hubei University to conduct an entertaining lecture, popularizing the basic knowledge of synthetic biology to children.

Activities:
1.Hong Yang , a member of the HP group, explained the basic knowledge of synthetic biology to the children from obvious examples in life.
2.Yanru Ding, the leader of the HP group, led the students to practice the original team game and base complementary matching game.

Details:
On the morning of April 25,2024, our team successfully completed the science popularization education activity in the affiliated Kindergarten of Hubei University. Two students, Hong Yang and Yanru Ding from HP Group, were responsible for the preliminary planning of this education activity, and actively completed the whole process of preparation for the activity. Finally, the presentation was a great success and won applause and praise from the crowd!
First of all, Yang Hong of the team briefly explained the purpose of coming to Class 5 of Huda Affiliated Kindergarten, introduced the composition of the team and the general background of the competition. Then, they began a "fantastic and wonderful" biology class. Using common and easy to understand examples in life, Yang Hong introduced the "differences" of similar individuals, such as whether their ears are earlobes, whether their thumbs can bend, whether they have single or double eyelids... All these "differences" are controlled by the "genes" of each of us, and it is these small "differences" that combine to form each of our "unique" life individuals! In the final part, team member Ding Yanru led everyone to play the game together. "There are long strings of codes in the gene. These codes are composed of four 'letters' AGCT, and the four' letters' have a unique hand-holding rule..."In this way, a biological knowledge education class in the "teach" and "play" effective integration, the children went hand in hand to complete the four base letters matching game, the activity came to be very successful under the atomsphere full of joy!

5. Special population

HuBu-4-CHN team carries out biology-related infectious disease prevention science popularization activities in Sunny Home community

Objective:
To broaden the audience and scope of education and enhance the influenceWe aim to broaden the audience and scope of education and enhance the influence of the team.

Implementation plan:
During the activity preparation period, we had sufficient communication with the hospital to ensure the feasibility and practicability of the teaching content. Interesting videos are interspersed during the teaching process and simple interactions are carried out.

Activities:
The speaker gave a lecture on the basic knowledge and preventive measures of infectious diseases.

Details:
On the morning of September 10, 2024, all members of the HP team carried out science popularization for special groups in the Sunshine Home Community for Disabled People in Huanghelou Street, Wuchang District to promote the understanding and prevention of infectious diseases.
Nestled on the fourth floor of the Sunshine Home at 44 Dacheng Road, Wuchang District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, a diverse array of functional spaces has been meticulously designed to serve the needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities, mild mental health conditions, and severe physical impairments within the communityIt provides day care, rehabilitation services, life cognition and social adaptability training, vocational skills training, cultural and sports activities, sheltered labor and other services,and is the first street day care institution for the disabled in Wuchang District.This activity aims at popularizing the knowledge of infectious diseases and preventive measures for special groups with relevant professional knowledge, hoping to bring some help to the students of Sunshine Home. At the beginning of the activity, Yanru Ding introduced the infectious diseases in daily life and preventive measures to the students in Sunshine Community.In this process, the "students" of Sunshine home listened very carefully, they sometimes listened quietly, sometimes raised their hands to ask questions, and students also responded positively and enthusiastically to the questions of Sunshine Home partners. The atmosphere was harmonious, and the enthusiasm and eagerness of the students made us feel as if we were in an ordinary campus class.
The content of the lecture mainly focused on the prevention and health of infectious diseases. Yanru Ding introduced the basic knowledge of infectious diseases, the importance of preventive measures, the cultivation of personal hygiene habits, the cleaning and disinfection of the living environment, the reasonable diet to enhance immunity, the necessity of vaccination and the response strategy of epidemic situation. The content covers all aspects of the "students" 'clothing, food, housing and travel, but also let everyone know more about life in learning, and more about health in life.
This social practice not only improved the basic understanding of infectious diseases of the disabled, but also enhanced their ability to protect their own health. We will contact more service teams for the disabled and hold more similar popular science activities to help disabled people learn more useful knowledge and provide them with better life security. At the same time, we also call on more people to join in this public welfare, and jointly create a more friendly and inclusive society for people with disabilities. Finally, everyone took a photo together, and the sunshine home activity came to a successful end!

6. General public

6.1 Synthetic Biology Grand Rounds

Objective:
To promote the team's project based on synthetic biology safety and education through popular science article series and video interviews with experts, so as to achieve the purpose of optimal education and safety.

Implementation plan:
At present, the team first writes popular science articles on synthetic biology education and safety, combined with cartoon pictures and related picture content, and pushes them to the team's wechat public account HuBu-4-CHN for publicity.

Activities:
We organized online communication ,wrote tweets and publicized.

Details:
At present, the team conducts public publicity by writing popular science tweets, and the target audience includes middle school students, college students, researchers and the public who are interested in synthetic biology. The aim is to comprehensively improve the public's understanding of the safety of synthetic biology through public publicity, achieve in-depth education, and stimulate the scientific research interest of relevant audiences. To promote the wide dissemination of scientific knowledge.
The team began publishing "Synthetic Biology Lecture Hall" tweets on August 22, 2024, and has published four so far, and will be continuously updated.
The general contents are as follows:
The first episode What is Synthetic Biology:It explains what is synthetic biology in an easy-to-understand way, and introduce the advantages and future prospects of synthetic biology through examples.
The second episode Security Challenges of synthetic biology:It mainly introduces the current security challenges of synthetic biology from the aspects of biosecurity, ecological security and biodiversity, bioterrorism and national security, and mention how the international community and experts need to deal with this challenge, in addition, the public can also monitor and make suggestions through a variety of ways or means.
The third episode Synthetic Biology's promising application:It showed the public Synthetic Biology's promising application in 4 aspects: healthcare,environmental protection,food testing and crop improvement.

6.2 Education for the public--Online publicity

Purpose:
Based on the direction of synthetic biology, publicize the team's project to the public through the social media, so that the team's education on synthetic biology can achieve the best educational purpose.

Implementation plan:
Publish the team's work online, including synthetic biology safety, education, cooperation and communication, in order to expand the team's influence on the public and publicity, publicity platforms include WeChat, Xiaohongshu, KuaiShou, Bili Bili, Sina weibo, Baidu.

Activities:
Organize exchanges, division of labor and cooperation, online publicity, to upload the team's related work in the form of video, articles, pictures and so on.

Details:
In today's rapidly changing science and technology, synthetic biology, as a cutting-edge interdisciplinary discipline, has become increasingly important. In order to popularize the knowledge of synthetic biology and enhance the public's awareness and interest in this field, our team decided to launch an online campaign with the theme of “Synthetic Biology Public Education”. Through the comprehensive use of multimedia channels, we aim to create a vivid and interactive educational platform to achieve the best effect of synthetic biology education, and at the same time enhance the team's influence on the public.

1.Content Planning

(1) Safety education: Produce a series of short videos, including laboratory operations, biosafety levels, ethical considerations, etc., to ensure that the public has a comprehensive and correct understanding of synthetic biology.
(2) Education and popularization: Publish popular science articles with illustrations to introduce the basic knowledge of synthetic biology, such as gene editing, biosynthesis, etc., to stimulate the public's desire to explore this field.
(3) Cooperation and communication: Invite experts in the field of synthetic biology at home and abroad to communicate and share the latest research results through live broadcasts or online seminars, so as to promote the interaction between academics and the public.

2.Platform selection:

(1) WeChat: Regularly push out in-depth science articles and expert interviews, suitable for in-depth reading.
(2) Xiaohongshu: sharing daily scientific research and experimental anecdotes, attracting young people in a relaxed and lively way.
(3) Shutterbugs and BeiliBeili: produce short videos to visualize the experimental process and results, which are suitable for rapid dissemination.
(4) Microblog: Publish project news and industry news to enhance timeliness and interactivity.
(5) Baidu: Optimize search engine keywords to enhance the searchability and exposure of the content.

3.Objectives:

Through online publicity, we expect to achieve the following goals:
(1) Enhance public understanding and interest in synthetic biology.
(2) Enhance the team's influence in the field of synthetic biology education.
(3) to promote the interaction and communication between academia and the public, and to create a favorable social atmosphere for the future development of synthetic biology.

Follow-up plan:

After releasing the dynamics, we will collect feedback, evaluate the effect of the activities, and adjust the strategy according to the actual situation to continuously optimize the content and methods of publicity to ensure the long-term effectiveness and influence of synthetic biology education.